Development of a visible light active photocatalytic portable water purification unit using ZnO nanorods

Abstract

A ZnO nanorods based water purification unit was designed which operates with solar energy as the source of activation. The purifier was tested on two model bacteria Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus with concentration as high as 1010 colony forming units (CFU) per litre, which is about 105 times higher than the bacterial concentration in tap water. Up to 99% (0.99 × 1010 CFU L−1) removal of viable bacterial cells was achieved under sunlight activation.